Torre Velasca

Building in Milan, Italy

45°27′36″N 9°11′26″E / 45.46000°N 9.19056°E / 45.46000; 9.19056Construction started1956^[1]Completed1958^[1]HeightAntenna spire98 m (322 ft)Top floor75 m (246 ft)Technical detailsFloor count26^[2]Design and constructionArchitect(s)BBPRMain contractorSocietà Generale Immobiliare

The Torre Velasca (Velasca Tower, in English) is a skyscraper built in the 1950s by the BBPR architectural partnership, in Milan, Italy. The tower is part of the first generation of Italian modern architecture, while still being part of the Milanese context in which it was born, to which also belongs the Milan Cathedral and the Sforza Castle.^[3]

The tower, measuring 75 metres (246 ft) in height to the roof with an additional 23-metre-tall (75 ft) antenna spire (total 98 m or 322 ft), has a peculiar and characteristic mushroom-like shape. It stands out in the city skyline, made of domes, buildings and other towers. Its structure recalls the Lombard tradition, made of medieval fortresses and towers, each having a massive profile. In such fortresses, the lower parts were always narrower, while the higher parts were propped up by wood or stone beams. As a consequence, the shape of this building is the result of a modern interpretation of the typical medieval Italian castle.^[4] At the same time, BBPR in this building satisfied the functional needs of space: narrower surfaces on the ground, wider and more spacious ones on the top floors. The town planning laws, then, imposed specific volumes (depending on the buildings' purpose); in this tower, the latter were the mixed functions of residential and commercial use.

The tower is located in the city centre of Milan, near the Duomo (Milan Cathedral) and the headquarters of the University of Milan, between the streets corso di Porta Romana and via Larga. One of the exits of the Missori metro station, on line 3, is located right in front of it.

In 2011, the tower was placed under protection as a historic building.^[1]

Gallery

Details of the scaffolds and armor of the concrete during construction in 1956
The tower during construction, seen from the Duomo of Milan
The tower during construction, seen from the Duomo of Milan
The tower seen from below
Upper floors
The Torre Velasca photographed by Paolo Monti in 1973

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Stella, Armando (18 November 2011). "La soprintendenza mette il «vincolo» sulla Torre Velasca" [Superintendent protects the Velasca Tower]. Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 1 October 2017.
^ "Torre Velasca". Housing Prototypes. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
^ "Skyscraper in Milan". LIFE. 2 December 1957. p. 120. Pointing to the eight-story overhang, reminiscent of Lombardy castles, [one of its architects] described the building as 'a sort of medieval nostalgia.'
^ "AD Classics: Torre Velasca / BBPR". ArchDaily. Retrieved 13 November 2011.